Evasive Is Not Invincible
by anathemaofyggdrasil
Summary: Shiro always knew that Keith's luck wouldn't hold. He wished now that he had reminded himself of that.


Keith always cut it close.

Shiro knew that, to him, every blow seemed inches away from connecting. To the red paladin each evasive twist was sure and confident. Keith knew where his enemy was, had the instincts to let him predict what blow was coming next, and had the rigorous training to let him escape harm. Even in the red lion, as big as it was, he never backed down from a challenge. It was terrifying, and more than once Shiro had thrown an enemy away just to get a look at Keith, to make sure, to be certain, that he was alright. He always was. Even more terrifying- he had come to rely on Keith's ability to dance around his enemies.

"We need them off our backs!" Shiro's jaw was locked, his heart beating heavy in his chest as he yanked the black lion's controls to the right. She careened, rolling out of the heavy fire behind him. The reprieve was short.

"Got it!"

Keith's shout came just before he darted between the four drones chasing after Shiro. The red lion was a flash of crimson almost too quick to see, but the swipe of a paw as the sullenest member of their group passed had drawn enemy attention. One of the ships wobbled and wavered for a static tick, and then blew up in a spectacular show of light.

Shiro drew a breath, his eyes flicking up to the battleship and the remains of another much further behind it. This battle was drawing out far too long, but they couldn't simply leave the fleet here and retreat- Galra forces had no businesses being so dangerously close to the Balmera. Allura was with Coran on the ground, keeping a careful eye out for any ships that slipped past the defenders. It made no sense though, as this territory was deeply within Voltron's power.

So why were they here?

The first had been present when they arrived to the distress call, but the second had shown up during the initial fight. The situation stung of a trap.

"Guys, this is bad. Really bad," Hunk chattered into the communication line, "do you guys see those drones? They're like, twice as tough as they usually are!"

Pidge made a noise of agreement, frustrated, and Shiro twisted the black lion around. She was being swamped. He raced forward, protective anger dulling the steady chant of _wrong, this is wrong_ in his chest.

"A little help?", Pidge called out, twisting her lion into a complicated maneuver that unfortunately did little to shake the three on her tail. Shiro was already there. The black lion's jaw blade helped with the matter, and Shiro felt a pulse of satisfaction from her before Pidge spoke again.

"Thanks!"

"Why don't we just take the battleship out?", Lance grunted, causing his own damage below the ship. He was taking drones out as they came, but not nearly enough to help matters. Shiro wondered, not for the first time, how many drones these ships could carry.

"We can't get close enough," Shiro said, eyes scanning the starry expanse ahead of him. Lagging and scattered explosions and scrap metal littered it, so much debris floating around that it was beginning to be a hazardous area. It was why they had shifted away from the first ship, but this battle was beginning to take up a ridiculous amount of space. They were away from the deactivated drones, at least, which were occasionally blowing up from stray shots. And if they could take the battleship out from below, avoiding it's deadly cannons…

"Guys guys guys-", Hunk's voice came fast through the line, panic catching at his breath, and Shiro twisted to see that Hunk was being overwhelmed. His lion was the slowest, and while he could take a beating it did not mean it was _wise_ to allow the damage to be taken.

Shiro started forward, but Keith beat him to it. The second oldest of the team took the drones down with a long laser shot, which they ran into one after another, unable to stop in time. Shooting that laser caught their attention, and while not all of them turned to face the oncoming threat, many did.

"Hang on Hunk," Shiro reassured, leaping into the fray. A few rough hits shook him, but the damage wasn't bad.

"Keith, where are you?" Shiro asked, having trouble keeping his eyes on the slippery red lion as he focused on the battle.

"Leading them into the debris field."

It was the perfect terrain for Keith. Shiro was only slightly nervous, but the area was better for their friend than open space was. He could dodge behind things, lead the enemy into shrapnel, use the deactivated drones to his advantage. There were quite a few of floating offline because their battleship had been destroyed.

And Shiro was busy with the battle, he couldn't keep his attention on Keith. He knew his old friend didn't expect him to either.

"Hunk, buddy, could use those super claws. Maybe if you dig a hole into the hangar I can shoot them up before they launch," Lance was thinking smart, and Shiro was proud. Their attempts to take this ship down had so far been foiled by the enhanced drones. The last ship went down when they formed Voltron, but they had been caught off guard by the arrival of the second and ever since were too busy to form the giant robot.

Shiro defended their backs, Pidge circling around and doing her best to prevent getting tailed again. She was doing well, and fought better with every battle she experienced. At fifteen, she was probably a prodigy- and not just with technology. She was smart as a whip.

Which was why she noticed what he didn't.

"Uh- guys, I think the drones just came back online?"

Momentary confusion, which Lance voiced.

"Pidge, honey, they've been shooting at us- I think they're online!"

"Not these ones you idiot! Keith! Get out of there!"

Shiro's heart dropped, and he batted a drone away before hitting his boosters to get out from under the ship. When he saw the debris field, the sickly red glow was spreading- like Christmas lights flashing, one after another, as the ships awakened. That had _never_ happened before.

And Keith, he could see, was far, far away from them. In the middle of dozens of drones they had thought harmless.

"KEITH RUN!" The cry tore from Shiro's mouth, desperate and frightened. Drones usually weren't too dangerous, but there were so manyaround the red paladin. How would he manage them _and_ the blasts coming from the battleship?

Keith was panting, his breathing was fast and audible on the channel as he raced through the debris. He was trying, but the red and gray ships were already moving. He was pulling stunts that Shiro would have normally barked at him for, but the black paladin's heart was in his throat. He didn't have the luxury to stop, watch- he was trying to fight his way closer, and he heard Hunk and Lance frantically talking in the background. He only had ears for Keith right now, because every breath was a sign of life and right now, Keith was so perilously close to losing his.

"Keep going- Keep at it- You can do it-" Shiro said, a steady stream of reassurances falling from his mouth. A grunt left him as his lion took a sharp blast that sent him wheeling in the air.

"Shiro-" Keith's voice was tight, concerned, and Shiro felt stunned. Was Keith really paying so much attention to him, despite the situation? He shouldn't be, and instead needed to be focusing on the danger _he_ was in.

But of course not. Selfless, stubborn idiot.

"Focus," Shiro said, sharper than he intended. Keith hadn't taken any hits yet and was still moving. He was getting closer, and Shiro was moving towards him as fast as he could in return. The head paladin started taking more hits, but he didn't care. Neither did Black, who felt his desperation and responded to it with an unwavering strength. He didn't care if he got banged up if Keith made it out of there alive.

All of the deactivated drones were back on now, and Shiro was horrified to see they were all converging onto a singular point. Keith. Shiro moved, he did, but-

A strangled cry, an explosion of light somewhere in the mess of drones. More explosions. It took Shiro too long to understand what he was seeing because of the terror.

"KEITH!"

The drones were blowing each other up, but only those closest to Keith. The blasts weren't small, isolated laser shots. They were big, burning masses of fuel and technology. Shiro could see the dark shape of the red lion, and Keith inside it, silhouetted by all the fire.

 _He's the most fireproof of us all_ , his mind supplied, but it did absolutely nothing to calm him because he could hear Keith crying out. The others had abandoned the battleship, the four of them were fighting now to get to their fellow paladin, their brother in arms, their friend.

"Hang in there!" It was Lance, and Shiro would have given anything to hear Keith snort and make some sarcastic remark.

"Shiro-" Keith's voice was pitched with pain and loud. Their connections with the lions caused so much more than just a bond- the pain was shared between paladin and lion, easing the damage and the stress. Black pulsed with urgency, perhaps able to hear Red like he wasn't.

Did Red sound as badly as Keith did?

The blasts were lightening, but Shiro could see that Keith was no longer moving. The red lion's eyes were dim, her mechanical joints loose. The remaining and unexploded drones were firing, over and over. A terrifying silence came along Keith's line.

"No! Keith! Keith _answer me!_ ", Shiro yelled, his hands clenched with damaging strength.

"Allura! Allura we need extraction!" Pidge was yelling, surging forward with just as much ferocity as all the others.

"Yes- We are on our way, hold on paladins!" Allura said, "We are already leaving the Balmera!"

Shiro's pulse raced in his veins. Some of the drones were turning their way now, shooting at them instead of Keith, but too many were focused on his best friend. If Shiro lost him- if he lost Keith, now, this day-

He would never forgive himself.

 _We need them off our backs!_

Keith had been following his orders. Shiro had known this wasn't right, that it might be a trap. He had known that, while so useful, Keith's diversionary tactics left him vulnerable to attack if they somehow managed to slow him down. Shiro had known and said before that luck wouldn't always hold out.

So why had he urged Keith on in such dangerous, unnecessary efforts?

The grief pumped through his blood, but right alongside it was anger and fear. They _had_ to get to Keith, get him out of here. Allura was bringing the castle, and while this meant retreat, they could _not_ lose Keith. They could retreat to Balmera, losing only a little ground that they would soon reclaim.

The loss today would not be Keith's life.

"This is taking too long!" Hunk yelled, just as angry as Shiro, and barreled his lion forward. It was rough- between taking hits and running headlong into the enemy Yellow was beginning to spark. And still, Keith wasn't responding to their calls.

Allura arrived with the castle, the particle barrier up. The ion canon on the battleship let loose, impacting against it with a glow that filled the cabins of the lions now that the explosions ahead of them had died down.

"I can only hold it for a few dobashes, paladins!"

They weren't even trying to destroy all of the drones now. They were just trying to get to Keith, to the silent lion that almost looked black from the scorch marks across the damaged red. Lance weaved, not elegant but sharp. Fast, faster than Black and Shiro. He reached Keith first and his lion's teeth settled over a mechanical joint between paw and foreleg. He began dragging the downed lion back the way he had come. Attacking drones- some from the second ship, now catching up with them- were bearing down on all five of them.

All of Shiro's thrusters were activated as he raced forward, and together they took firm hold of the red lion.

"Back to the castle!"

They retreated. It was all that they could do with a silent paladin and a mostly intact enemy ship. They were beat this time, and it stung badly. But none of them cared about the defeat right now.

" _Keith?!_ " Pidge's voice was a sharp, scared sound. She tried again, but there was nothing. Unable to take doing nothing, the green paladin raced ahead and into her hangar, yelling at Coran to ready a healing pod. Shiro knew Keith hated them, would rather heal naturally, but now wasn't a time to let nature take its course. If they did- If they didn't get him into a healing pod-

"I must do what I can from the control room paladins!" Coran replied. There were only two people in the Castle of Lions, which meant that the Altean man was desperately needed beside Allura. He would do what he could, though Shiro wasn't sure just how much that was. And Keith was still unresponsive.

 _His communication could just be down_ , Shiro tried to calm himself, but there was little comfort in that. The red lion was taken into his hangar- it was just large enough to house both Red and Black even when Voltron's right hand collapsed limply on the floor. Shiro was out of his lion almost as soon as he touched down. Allura was busy navigating the ship, getting them to safety, with Coran at her side maintaining the defenses and firing back. He knew the others would be on their way but right now it was just him. The weight crushed him as he reached the Red's metal fangs, and climbed, using his Galra arm to force her jaws open. Thank all things good in the universe that they hadn't locked, or he wouldn't have been able to get inside to Keith.

"How is he? Shiro? Do you have him?" Hunk's anxious voice faded as he reached the interior of the red lion. There were no alarms blaring, no red lights, though the air was thick and hot… Everything was… Dead.

He could see Keith's hand, limply fallen beside the pilot's chair. He was still in the seat, but his dark head was slumped to the side. He lost his breath. Shiro's boots whined awfully against the metal, and he dropped to a knee in front of Keith. The paladin's face was pale, lines of stress and pain still marking him. His chin was dropped low.

"Keith?", Shiro's voice was a ghostly breath as his trembling hands- and he didn't want his damned Galra arm anywhere _near_ Keith but it was a part of him and he hated it- settled at the pilot's armor. A deft movement had his helmet removed, and Shiro let it drop as he pressed his flesh hand to Keith's neck.

A pulse, thready and too slow. But there. He moved his hand up, but couldn't feel the sensation of breath against his hand. Footsteps clattered outside, and then a scrabbling noise.

"Shiro!"

Pidge had entered the pilot's cabin, her helmet thrown off and her face sweaty from what must have been a rapid dash to his hangar.

"Is he breathing?", Pidge asked, and Shiro shook his head as he snapped his arms under and around Keith. He knew that they had no time. Keith wasn't breathing, which meant that the faint pulse he had found- if he had really found one at all- was probably already gone by this point.

"Shiro! Shiro put him down- we have to get him breathing again!" Pidge's voice was nearly a scream, one of panic and dismay.

There was too much smoke inside Red. They had to get out, before anything, old instructions and lessons forcing him to consider the possibility that a Voltron lion might be so damaged it could _explode._ Pidge must have understood too as he rushed for the exit, sliding out of the mouth and nearly right into Hunk.

Lance was pale beside him, his eyes on Keith.

"No- no no no, guys-" the blue paladin ran his gloved hands over his helmet. Hunk gasped, his hands raising, as if he could take Keith and somehow help. As if his bare strength would be enough to give Keith life and energy.

"Put him down Shiro!" Pidge pulled at his arm, off-balancing him. He responded with an uncharacteristic snarl which he would regret later, but she was unfazed and pulled harder until he obeyed. He wanted to take Keith straight to a pod- but what good would a pod do if he wasn't breathing?

Pidge's hands moved fast, loosening Keith's armor. They couldn't do anything with it on, it was too thick and tough for CPR to have an effect. Lance had sunk down, closely followed by Hunk.

"Come on man," Lance said, tears burning at his eyes, "you've still gotta kick my ass for saying you couldn't outfly a Weblum shit. You gotta show Hunk that weird plant you found on Yaxice, the one that smelled like cinnamon. You can't- You can't just…"

Hunk's big hand snaked down and grabbed hold of Keith's. It looked so small compared to his, and Shiro's breath hitched. His fault- all his fault. He taught Keith to take that reckless temper and use it this way. He taught Keith to do something good with his uncanny ability to move- but he had never, never wanted this.

Pidge moved out of the way, Keith's chest plate dropped to the side. Her sweet brown eyes were flooded with tears.

"Save him- Shiro, you can help him," she said. Shiro was the strongest, it would be his hands that were best able to bring Keith back to them. He started the chest compressions, but his Galra hand stood out so starkly and sickeningly. He almost pulled back, insisted that someone else take over-

But there was a flutter.

He barely felt it, but the next time his hands pressed down it was there again, and stronger.

"Okay buddy, Keith, breath for me," Shiro said, his voice low and his brows drawn tight. He stopped, shifted, held Keith's head and helped him as he checked with his flesh hand. His metal fingers were tight in the thick black hair at his best friend's nape. Breath, lifegiving and perfect, even if it was faint, breezed against his fingers. A full head to toe tremble started in Shiro's body as he scooped Keith up again and started running. Pidge darted ahead.

The low blasts outside had gone quiet, he only now realized. He ran with the entire group, up the stairs and through the corridors until they reached the healing pods. One was already prepared but Pidge was there making sure, adjusting things, because they had almost _lost_ Keith. There was no time for a proper pod suit or to clean the red paladin up, so they put him in as he was and stared, anxious, as the pod settled and the healing process began.

They remained there, as they were, for several long minutes until Pidge sniffled and wiped at her eyes. Inconspicuously, everyone began to move in different directions to hide and wipe their tears away- until Hunk grabbed Lance, and then Shiro, and then Pidge. The hug may not have been complete, but they were beside Keith, and he was safe. Healing. He would live.

"We are _not_ acting like we're okay," Hunk said, "because that- that seriously, seriously sucked."

He squeezed them, more than capable, and Lance bowed his head as he sniffled more openly than Pidge had. Shiro closed his eyes and let the comfort of his family settle on him, even though guilt lurked hard inside his chest, climbing up his throat and poisoning his brain.

"I can't- I can't believe it came that close," Lance murmured.

They all shared the same thought: they had all thought, in some way, that Keith was untouchable. Even though Shiro _knew_ he could be hurt, had been, terribly, all through his life.

 _I'm not any better than Zarkon_ , he thought. His heart was full of needles.

"You- Shiro, you stop that," Pidge's voice broke his thoughts, and he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry.

"I see you- being guilty. You can't do that."

"Yeah," Hurk's voice was shaky, "any of us could have noticed how far he was going. And- the debris field wasn't a bad idea. We just-"

"We didn't know they had a trick up their sleeve," Lance finished, rubbing his eyes now that Hunk was letting them go. His arms had been pinned at his sides.

"We know now," Pidge said, determination coming across her expression. "I'm going to analyze any data I got from the battle. We might be able to find a way of shutting those extra drones down and preventing this from happening again."

The idea of having to destroy _every single drone_ they faced was a daunting one. Shiro nodded slowly.

"That's a good idea. I… I'll stay here, monitor Keith."

Into a pod didn't necessarily mean he would be okay. Shiro needed to watch, be sure.

"I'll go cook some food. We're gunna need it to take those assholes down," Hunk said, voice hard. He would probably bake something, as he enjoyed when he was stressed. Shiro was thankful.

"And I'll go check on Allura and Coran and then come back down," Lance added, and Shiro nodded approvingly at him. Lance was, more and more, sounding like an intelligent and trustworthy man. Not all the time- he was still a kid. But Shiro saw the beginnings of greatness in him.

They shared another hug before they all dispersed. Shiro turned back to the healing pod and raised a hand- his left- and pressed it against the glass. It seemed cold, but he knew inside would be the exact temperature Keith needed. Slowly, so hesitantly, he leaned forward and pressed his brow to the glass too.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, gray eyes tracing the pain on Keith's expression.

The group's words had been kind. They had made him feel less afraid, and more in control… But it didn't change that the only one who could truly forgive him might not live through the night. Only time would tell, or perhaps Coran, who knew this machinery better than Shiro and could read it correctly. There was nothing Shiro could to except respond to any alerts it gave, and he prayed that all went well and smoothly because that meant Keith's condition was steady and improving.

He just needed to see his best friend awake, alive. Needed to hear him talk and reassure him that he was and would be okay, because that experience must have been so terrifying. Shiro had never died, not that he could remember, but Keith had come so close today. Those moments Keith spent alone and surrounded would plague the black paladin's nightmares. He couldn't imagine what Keith had felt.

He couldn't let it happen again.

"Please wake up."


End file.
